Is foam rubber washable?

When purchasing furniture, namely sofas and armchairs, inside of which there is foam rubber, you need to be prepared and be able to provide the necessary care if necessary. Based on this, the question often arises, is it possible to erase the foam yourself and how to do it? In this article we will talk about the main rules for washing and caring for products made of foam rubber, as well as share tips for maintaining furniture in excellent condition.

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Washing foam - is it worth it?

If it happens that you need to restore the cleanliness of a foam rubber product yourself in the near future, the question immediately arises whether foam rubber can be washed in a washing machine. Where will most people turn to at that moment? - Naturally, on the World Wide Web, or rather the Internet.

On different sites, communities you will meet a huge number of people willing to share their unique advice or recommendation. Often this turns out to be complete nonsense, such as: “put foam rubber in the pool for convenience, fill it with detergent” or “get a full bath of water, fill a pack of powder, soak the foam pillows and jump on them”.

If you are not a fan of experiments with unforeseen outcomes, in order not to spoil the product, but really help, you should refer to the official information, which indicates the points you need, namely the GOST standards.

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Official Care Information

So, the rules for the safe use of all types of furniture are regulated by GOST R 16371-93 and R 19917-93. From the very first lines of the document it is said that the period that the furniture products will serve you depends on the operation, namely on compliance with the conditions and accuracy in use.

This, as a rule, applies not only to furniture, but also to absolutely all things. Careful attitude prolongs life, preserves the original attractiveness of the product.

Regarding usage standards:

1. The recommended room temperature for comfortable use of chairs, sofas, beds is from +10 ° C to +25 ° C.
2. Humidity should not exceed 65-70%.
3. It is also not advisable to put radiators or other means of heating the room close to upholstered furniture. This can seriously affect and spoil the upholstery of the furniture, its frame, filler, which is often made of foam rubber.

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Foam Care and Cleaning Tips

But what do professionals advise and how do they answer the question, is it possible to wash foam rubber in a washing machine?

Wash foam and upholstery fabric, it turns out, is very undesirable. This is due to the fact that when wet, foam rubber loses its elasticity and return density properties.

Important! For foam in the wet state, any deformation is critical, not to mention overvoltage.

The porous structure of foam rubber helps get rid of excess moisture quickly enough. But despite this, the drying process takes a long period of time.

Important! Foam should be dried exclusively in a natural way, since it is forbidden to heat it with various electrical devices, such as a hairdryer, heater. This can completely ruin the material.

If you want to clean the polyurethane products from dust and dirt that has accumulated over a long time, use a vacuum cleaner or dry cleaning.

Important! You can try to clean small and shallow dirt with a soapy solution and a brush, but try to use more foam and less water. Thus, the drying process will be faster, and the purification itself is safer.

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The basics of operating foam rubber - practice:

1. As a rule, foam rubber withstands from -10 ° С to + 100 ° С. But despite this, it is not recommended to succumb foam rubber to the influence of increased thermal exposure - often this has negative consequences and has a detrimental effect on the quality of the material.
2. It is also unacceptable and categorically forbidden to iron foam rubber, because this affects the deformation and melting of the material every second.
3. However, in some environments it is necessary to use foam rubber that can be exposed to high temperatures. In such cases, manufacturers use heat-resistant polyurethane foam, which contains the necessary components. They, in turn, give the material important properties. An example of the use of such foam is the coating of ironing boards, on which ornaments, embroideries and other decorative elements are applied.
4. One of the most common causes of deterioration in foam quality is improper transportation. Often during transportation this material is compressed to reduce volumes by 3-5 times. When unpacking, you can notice that the quality becomes much lower, and the stiffness decreases significantly. And if the quality of the foam rubber before transportation was not ideal, then after incorrect delivery the properties can only get worse.

Important! The maximum allowable service life of foam products is 13-15 years. But the service life may be reduced due to high humidity, sudden changes in temperature or vice versa - due to the high temperature.

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Stock footage

So, summing up, one cannot but note the fact that foam rubber is quite picky in the care and operation. The answer to the main question, is it possible to wash foam rubber in a washing machine, explains that, in principle, washing this material is permissible, but may entail some difficulties and unpleasant consequences. If the years have made the filler of your sofa or other furniture unpresentable and completely exhausted, we advise you to completely replace it.